Future off the Starboard Bow
by Mohabbat
Summary: Jim's getting ready to graduate from the Interstellar Acadamy. His final test: to make a voyage on the ship The Chronicle as an engineer. Simple enough, but others have an different idea ...My first story, so keep that in mind XD...
1. Chapter 1

Jim Hawkins wondered around the Montessor Space Port for the first time in months. He walked the now familiar boardwalks with more excitement than usual, he was about to take his last field test. If he did well, he would be a graduate of the Interstellar Academy. He even went so far as to be smug about this, if his skills weren't enough, his favorite instructor would be his overseer for this last test, Ms. Hannah Richards. There was no way he could mess this one up. He arrived at their determined destination to look around for her, though he was positive that she would find him before he found her. Sure enough, a hand gently graced his shoulder.

"Mr. Hawkins," he turned to face her. She was clad in her deck garb which he had seen maybe twice before, its light colors made her royal blue skin stand out. All of her dark purple hair was put up into a worker's sun hat, so that only wisps of it showed in front of her large, green eyes. "Are you ready for our voyage?"

"Yes Ma'am," he responded.

"Well let me give you the background," she pulled him aside, out of traffic. "You will be chief engineer of the merchant vessel_ Chronicle_. I will help when needed, but for the most part I will just evaluate your work. The _Chronicle_ is taking shipments of sura crystals to Junkar. The voyage should take a month, two at most, longer than normal I understand but I have faith in you Mr. Hawkins."

"Thank you, Ma'am," Jim answered, honored.

"Right then, we'll be on our way," with that she led him out of the alley. Jim followed, but paused when Morph tried to escape from his hat.

"Not now, Morph," he whispered, keeping a hand on his hat.

"Something wrong, Mr. Hawkins?" Ms. Richards turned back to see why he stopped.

"No Ma'am," his manner went back to the respectful student.

"Then I suggest you keep up," she turned, and quickly flowed through the crowd.

Jim had to fight a little to keep up with her, but he managed. She stopped suddenly.

"Here we are," she spoke as if it were nothing at all. Jim, however, was frozen in awe at the size of the vessel. The last time he saw one near this size, was the _R.L.S. Legacy_ all those years ago. Then, looking back, it had only been two, three years. Waves of memories rushed through him, which added more to his stunned silence. He approached the _Chronicle_ cautiously, as if it would swallow him. Ms. Richards was already making her way up the gang plank. Jim made his way forward, still staring upward at the giant vessel. Ms. Richards turned to him and chuckled softly to herself. Embarrassed, Jim hurried up the gang plank.

"Hannah!" cried a small voice. A younger girl ran up to meet them. She, like Ms. Richards, had the long, thin limbs, wide green eyes, and the same dark purple hair. This girl's seemed darker, though it could've been because her skin was so much lighter, very pale with just the hint of blue, which made her look sick and frail. The girl threw her arms around Ms. Richards, who welcomed the embrace and laughed. When the girl let go, she turned back to Jim.

"Mr. Hawkins, this is my sister, Lilith Richards."

"Good day, Miss." He did as he was taught. Lilith curtly nodded her head.

"Sir," Ms. Richards gave her a death stare. Lilith rolled her eyes and turned back to Jim. "Good day to you, Mr. Hawkins." Jim held back a laugh.

"Now get back to your post. You're supposed to be making a good impression." They exchanged another quick hug, and Lilith left. "I apologize for my sister's behavior."

"She's a free spirit, huh?" Jim asked.

"I'm sure she would prefer that. Unfortunately she has me. She's joining us as a cabin girl. I wanted her to come so she could get some references for the academy."

"She'll be a student?" Jim didn't think she looked like one to join the academy, but he was sure he didn't either.

"I want her to consider it," Ms. Richards started to walk towards the bow. "She keeps telling me we can't afford it, and even if we could it would be pointless for her to go. She's so convinced she knows everything that she needs to know to run a ship." They made their way down to the energy room. The levers, buttons, and monitors seemed endless, but Jim knew each ones purpose. Two men were already at work at some of the machinery, but they stopped and turned as they entered.

"This is Mr. Hart," she waved towards the smaller of the two men. He saluted. "and this is Mr. Welp." The bigger man just eyed Jim with angry, beady eyes. Jim was sure he wasn't too happy about answering to a boy like himself. Jim stood tall; he wasn't going to be intimidated. The whistle blew above. "Alright, Mr. Hawkins, we'll begin."

"All hands to stations!" bellowed the voice of First Officer Thomas from the interspeaker. Jim turned it to face him as he turned the connectors for the sails on.

"Stations in energy, Sir," Jim turned to his engineers. "Mr. Welp, the thrusters, if you please. Mr. Hart, man the power." Both men did as they were told. Ms. Richards took down notes. Jim checked every monitor carefully, making sure every thruster and sail was working properly. The familiar hum of energy being stored filled the room as the men worked. The loss of gravity didn't seem to affect anyone in the room; all continued their work as if nothing was happening. Jim flipped the switch to send energy to the gravity turbine. Within seconds everyone was on the ground again, and still everyone continued working as if nothing could interfere. Jim flipped the final switches, and now watched the monitor of energy coming from the solar sails. He got the final order:

"Full speed, Mr. Hawkins!"

"Now Gentlemen!" Each man flipped his switches, and they were off. The room went silent. Every man's eyes were on the monitors as they waited. Then the hum came back, and the tension was released.

"Fine work, Gentlemen," Ms. Richards mused as she scribbled her final note and closed her notebook. Jim nodded towards the engineers. They nodded back and resumed their work. Jim did the same, but soon First Officer Thomas stood in the doorway.

"Ms. Richards, Mr. Hawkins," he nodded to each of them as he said their names. "The captain would like a word."

"Of course," Ms. Richards answered. She exited, followed by Jim and Thomas. The Captain's quarters were luxurious, but not excessively so. Wide windows bordered the back of the office. The desk had similar monitors as the ones in the energy room. The carpet beneath them felt very thick. At the small table at the opposite side of the room, sat the Captain.

"Ah, Ms. Hannah Richards," He stood to face her and bowed. He seemed young, yet still older than Jim. The Captain and Ms. Richards shook hands.

"It's wonderful to see you again, John," replied Ms. Richards. He waved the matter away and turned to Jim.

"Mr. Hawkins I presume! Excellent work today! I hope this nitpicker doesn't grade you too hard." Ms. Richards shook her head.

"I think that's the least of your worries, Captain. This is _the_ James Hawkins, the one who not only found Flint's lost trove, but saved the whole crew from a fiery demise." Jim shook his head.

"I'm not that special, honest, Sir," he insisted.

"Hardly, Mr. Hawkins. You're graduating a year early from the academy! Why, even Rodgers didn't-" He stopped to look at Jim's hat floating a few inches above his head. Jim quickly snatched it down, but Morph still managed to escape. He flew around the room with his high squealed laugh ringing through the room.

"Morph!" Jim cried. Morph went to the Captain, and turned into an exact miniature of the Captain.

"Who is this little fellow?" the Captain laughed. Morph laughed as well.

"Little Fellow," he mimicked.

"This is Morph," Jim began "He was with me on the _Legacy_, actually. A friend of mine," Jim paused, thinking of Silver "sent him with me, to help me." Morph came back to Jim and turned into multiple different useful items. "He's actually quite handy."

"I see," the Captain walked toward him and patted him on the back. "Quite lucky you are to come across someone willing to send such an extraordinary creature with you."

"Yes," Jim agreed "Very lucky." Ms. Richards cleared her throat and smoothed her jacket.

"Well Captain, we'd best be on our way."

"Yes, of course," Captain said turning away from them, just to turn back "Oh, Mr. Hawkins, your solar surfer is down below with the long boats. Feel free to try it around dusk when the rest of the crew won't be too busy gawking at you to do their work."

"Thank you, Sir," Jim replied. He was excited about surfing this far out, he had always wanted to try it. First things first, he told himself and went back to the energy room.


	2. Chapter 2

The sunset was beautiful tonight, but lucky for Jim no one else cared to take notice. The deck was completely empty when he brought up his surfer. He carefully checked everything, and then fired it up. He hadn't just surfed for the fun of it in so long, it felt so good to do it again, especially with no ground below you. It was exhilarating. He felt the need to scream, he got as far as he could away from the ship that he felt he could get beck in time in case of an emergency. He started a swift ascension, then fell back into a plummeting freefall. Twisting and flipping, he felt he could fall forever. He pulled up and made his way back to the deck. He stepped off, preparing to take the board down, and found Lilith staring at him, her eyes even wider if that were possible.

"Um…hello," he walked toward her. Her bluegreen eyes gawked at him in disbelief. "You're Hannah Richards sister?" he continued trying to get her to talk. She nodded, and eyes his surfer.

"I saw your trick," she spoke very soft, nodding her head to the sky "I thought you were going to die."

"I've done worse," he responded, truthfully. She reached her hand out, like she was considering touching the board. "Do you surf?" She looked at him for a minute, as if she didn't believe he asked her something, and pulled her hand back.

"I've always wanted too," she answered finally.

"Do you want to try?" he asked. She again shot him a look of disbelief.

"Oh no, it's your board. I'd probably wreck it or fall," she murmured, backing away from the board.

"I'll be with you," he insisted, getting the board ready to fly again.

"How?"

"I'll stand behind you, help you steer if you need it. We won't be able to go very fast, or pull stunts like that," he pointed to the sky where he was flying earlier "but we'll still be able to fly."

"There's only one foothold."

"I don't need one." Lilith still seemed unsure, she backed away even more. He paused and offered his hand to her.

"C'mon," he smiled, walking towards her "it'll be fun." She looked at his hand, then at him, and took his hand. He lifted her to put her foot in the foothold. She steadied herself on the board, and he jumped on behind her. He opened the sail; the board hovered of the deck. "When you're ready," he set his foot on the throttle. She took a deep breath.

"I'm ready," her voice shook, Jim smiled.

"Here we go!" he yelled, but she didn't her him over the roar of the engine. She screamed, but not in fear. The adrenaline pulsing through her veins was unexplainable. The realization that the board was the only thing between her and a fall through never ending space only added to the high. Jim steered the board to the left, leaning, and she did the same. After circling the ship a couple times, he slowed so she could hear him.

"Having fun?" he yelled over the engine.

"This is amazing!" she yelled back, breathless.

"You want to try something?" he asked her. Her normal reasoning would have told her no, after what she saw him try, but her excitement got the better of her.

"Sure!"

"You'll have to trust me, and do exactly as I say!" her answer was a laugh. He let go of the sail. "Give me your hands." She, too, carefully let go of the sail. The fear started to spread through her. Jim leaned back, and the board started going up. His arms went around her. "Close your eyes!" She did as she was told, then every thing went silent. She felt a gust of wind, and then she floated, weightless for the moment. Then gravity took over as she began to fall. She felt her body tense, and wanted to open her eyes. They stayed shut, because Lilith still felt Jim's arms around her. _He would've let go if he wanted me to fall_, she thought. Then the sound of the engine came back. The change in direction made Lilith open her eyes. Jim brought the sail beck up, and let go of her arms. She laughed again.

"That was fantastic!"

"I knew you would love it!" he laughed. He landed them on the deck. She tried to step off smoothly, but her legs were still in shock. They collapsed on the deck, and Jim shot to her side to see if she was okay. To his surprise, Lilith burst out laughing. He started laughing with her. After a long minute of laughing, they sighed simultaneously which made them laugh even more.

"Here," Jim said, stifling the last of the chuckles "Let me help you- Lilith is it?

"Lili," she answered.

"Lili?" he asked helping her up. She nodded.

"Hannah told me your name was James?" she looked unsure about what she was asking.

"Call me Jim," he tried to put her arm over him for support, but she took it back.

"Well, Jim, that was the most fun I think I've ever had. Thank you."

"No problem," he shrugged "We'll have to get you out for often. Maybe you could learn to ride by yourself." Her big eyes went even wider.

"I don't think I'd ever be able to pull that off," she shook her head.

"You'd be surprised how quick people catch on." He assured on their way to the galley. "Do you want to try again tomorrow?" She looked at him again, then looked down and nodded. Jim smiled and went down to get some dinner before returning to work.

------

Jim, in fact, had very little to do that night. Ms. Richards followed him up as the rest of the crew headed to bed.

"Fine work today, Mr. Hawkins," she patted him on the back.

"Thank you, ma'am," he answered.

"and-" she seemed lost for words, which rarely happened with Ms. Richards "I saw what you did for Lilith today, and I want to thank you. I know it meant a lot to her."

"I'm glad she had fun," he responded sincerely.

"Well, in case you need me, I'll be in the staterooms next to the Captain's,"

"Good night, Ma'am," he waved, heading down to the crew's quarters.

"Good night, Mr. Hawkins."

Jim turned on his touch pad to see that B.E.N. had already sent him several messages. He rolled his eyes, only bothering to read the first one:

_Hey Jimmy! How's your last test going? How's the chief engineer life treating ya? Things here at the Benbow are going okay. I think your mom is missing morph, and doc and Amelia certainly do. They're coming even more often than normal, and the little ones need constant watching. Guess who has to do that? Write back soon!!!_

_B.E.N._

Jim laughed quietly to him self as he skimmed through the other eight messages B.E.N. had sent him in the past twenty four hours. He pressed a button and the pen appeared at the top of the screen. He took it and scribbled back a reply:

_Hey B.E.N. My test is going great. Ms. Richards is my favorite teacher, and she's friends with the captain. The ship it self is gigantic! I couldn't believe the size of it. They even brought on a solar surfer for me to ride during my break. I met a girl that I'm teaching to ride. Her name's Lili, she's Ms. Richards sister. Tell Doc and Amelia hello for me. Tell Mom I miss her and love her. Take good care of the kids!_

_Jim_

Jim shuddered at the thought of the cumbersome robot taking care of little children. Morph certainly did the job well. As if he could read Jim's mind, Morph came up from his hiding place in Jim's shoe and curled up next to the pillow. Jim petted him, shut off his touch pad, and went to bed.


	3. Chapter 3

Morph woke Jim up the next morning by changing into cold water right above him,

"Gah! Morph!" he tried to be quiet, but knew he wasn't succeeding. Morph laughed, and flew up the steps. Jim threw his boots and jacket on, and followed him. He stood in the darkness while his eyes adjusted, but then he heard a laugh. He recognized Lili's voice:

"Where did you come from?" Morph laughed, followed by a louder giggle from Lili. "Do you have a name?" Jim walked up to meet up with them, but everything went silent. A big man loomed over Morph and Lili.

"I do believe, Miss, you still have plenty of work to be done," his big voice was deep and frightening.

"Back off, Grog. I'm working as fast as I can," her once happy voice became resilient.

"I think you could work faster if you weren't playing with pets," his voice rose in anger. He tried to grab Morph, but Morph bit him.

"Come here you little-" Morph turned into a mouth and stuck his tongue out at the man. Morph laughed, and ran away. Lili tried her hardest to stifle her laugh, but none the less it escaped. The man pulled her up by her hair. "I swear, you urchin, that when I find your pet-"

"Let her go," Jim ordered. The man looked up at him.

"I don't believe that this is any of your concern," he responded, not letting go of Lili.

"I think it is, because it's my pet you're threatening, not hers," Jim stood tall. The man threw Lili to the ground.

"Well, then, I'll make this good and clear," the man put a knife in front of Jim's face. "If that _thing_distracts my cabin girl again, you can pay the consequence." Lili was starting to make her way up, when the man kicked her and sent her down again. Jim went to help her.

"Are you alright?" he was truly concerned. She waved him away.

"It's nothing," her voice cracked, she got back on her knees to scrub the deck. Jim, too, grabbed a rag and began to scrub. She looked at him, puzzled. "So, that blob thing, that's your pet?"

"Kind of," Jim answered.

"What is it?" she dipped her rag back in the bucket.

"I don't know exactly what, but I call him Morph."

"Morph," she laughed "I like him."

"Judging by the way he bit that guy, he likes you too," she blushed. Then she took the rag from him.

"I won't keep you from your work anymore. Besides if Grog comes back, he'll probably beat us both," he reached out to take the rag from her, but like her sister, she too had the amazing reflexes. She grabbed his wrist, and kept it firmly, inches away from the rag. "Really, go."

He gave up trying to fight her; instead he stood and walked away. The energy room was quiet save for the reassuring hum and beeps of the monitors. Jim took his seat and began his work. About an hour later, he heard someone enter the room.

"Well, Mr. Hawkins," Ms. Richards walked towards him "Mr. Grog was not very happy about your incident with your pet and my sister." Jim shrugged.

"Sorry if it upset you, Ma'am." Ms. Richards took a seat next to him.

"I just don't want her to think she can talk back to her superiors and get away with it," she gave him a scolding stare "Please don't encourage her." Jim looked back at the monitors, ashamed.

"Yes Ma'am. I'll stay away from your sist-"

"No, not that," she shook her head smiling "I'm very appreciative that you have taken her under your wing, she doesn't get that very much, just please try and-"

"What do you mean she doesn't get that very much?" Jim was quietly fidgeting with the monitors again.

"She just hasn't made many friends," Ms. Richards murmured. "All her life, I wished I could have been her friend, instead of her parent."

"Did something-" Jim stopped, thinking he was getting too personal. Ms. Richards looked at him expectantly, so he continued. "Did something happen to your parents?"

"Our mother died shortly after Lilith was born. My father wasn't the best father figure," her tone told Jim that she was not going to tell him anymore.

Jim sat on deck with his board, waiting for Lili. He decided maybe she couldn't come, and decided to get the board ready. As he kneeled next to it, he barely heard her silent footsteps behind him. He stood, and turned to her. Shock ran through his body.

"What happened to you?" large bruises covered the right side of her neck. She looked at him, puzzled.

"What do you mean?" he reached out to her and she flinched back.

"What happened to your neck?" he slowly approached this time. She gave a sharp wince when he adjusted her head to see better.

"Nothing," she answered, it sounded rehearsed.

"We have to get you to the doctor," Jim insisted, taking her hand. She pulled away from him.

"Really, it's nothing to worry about," she gave a half smile. Jim didn't seem convinced. Lili's eyes became pleading. "Please, Jim, I just really want to fly," Jim sighed.

"If we fly, we have to take care of that later," he offered, pointing to her neck. She smiled again.

"Deal."

Jim set her up again, and got on behind her. She gripped the sail with excitement.

"I'm going to let you steer a little more this time, okay?" he asked her as he started the engine. She seemed a little unsure, but she answered:

"I'll try," the board went into the air, and they were off. Jim didn't know why she seemed so scared on a board, she was doing a better job than he'd see any beginner do. She even out did some experienced surfers. She landed the board on the deck, and jumped off with otherworldly grace.

"I don't know why you doubt yourself so much," Jim told her, taking down the board. "You did an excellent job." She blushed. "Now, let's take care of your neck."

Down in crew quarters, Jim pulled out his small first aid bag. He took the cleaning cloth and broke ache relieve capsules over it. Once the liquid covered a large portion of the cloth, Jim put it on her neck.

"Hold it there for a while," he told her. She winced a little, but tried shrugging it of as no big deal. Her eyes never came off of him, like curious lily pads. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she answered, her eyes darting away "I'm just thinking..."

"About what?" he started to get the cleaning supplies ready.

"You were-…on the ship the _Legacy_?"

"Yes,"

"You saw Flint's Trove?"

"Yes."

"How? Everyone says you had to go to pirates to know how to get there." Jim laughed.

"No," he shook his head "I had a map. The pirates pretended to be honest sailors and threw a mutiny once we saw the planet."

"Do you hate pirates?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"I probably should," he smiled "but one saved my life, and did so much more for me. I thought I hated him when he betrayed me, but I couldn't."

"Was he the one who gave you your pet?"

"Yes." Lili paused.

"Where do you come from, Jim?" she started swinging her legs.

"A mining planet called Montressor," he went to take the cloth from her neck. "What about you?" Lili looked down.

"I don't know."

"You don't have somewhere to call home?" Jim asked quietly. She shook her head.

"We never stayed in one place long enough to call home." Jim cleaned her neck, silent. Lili broke the silence: "Tell me about your home."

"I live in an inn-"

"You don't have a house to live in?" she interrupted. Jim laughed, she sounded like a little child.

"No, the inn is my house. My mom runs it. Montressor doesn't get much rain. It's mostly uninhabitable desert, which makes it a perfect place to fly," he paused.

"Does your dad help in the inn?" she asked casually. Jim would normally feel a pang of sadness and pain, but this time it didn't come.

"My father left us when I was really young," Lili's eyes grew even bigger.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"Don't be," he insisted smiling "I had a guy, guess you would call him a father figure. He taught me a lot." She was silent for a while

"He doesn't work in the inn, does he?" she guessed. Jim smiled again.

"He was the pirate who saved my life," he sighed, and finally looked back at her. "I haven't seen him in three years." Lili, stood up.

"Thank you, Jim," she looked at him in earnest "For everything." Seconds later, her feet disappeared up to the deck.

"No problem," he answered, but she didn't hear.


	4. Chapter 4

Jim and Lili didn't meet again to surf for another three days. Finally, everyone seemed to be slowing down in work and they decided to try again. Dark had long since fallen when they made their way back to the ship. Jim's watch had started a half hour ago, so he started to make his way up to the crow's nest. Lili went to the other side, and they raced to the top. Jim barely beat her, rolling gracefully to the opposite side. Lili fell in behind him, rolling over his lap and landing across from him with a thud as her back hit the crow's nest. They laughed until it hurt, then Lili pulled herself over to sit next to him. They both took a moment to catch their breath.

"Beautiful night," Jim broke the silence. Lili nodded.

"Captain could bring up the speed a little," Jim himself had been thinking this.

"I'm guessing you know more about ship travel than people would think," Jim mused. She nodded.

"Spent most of my life on ships, you can't really help but learn when it's the only thing you've got." This brought another question to Jim's mind.

"Tell me your story," he asked. She sighed.

"It's not ver interesting," she insisted. After another moment of silence, Jim answered trying to keep the curiosity out of his voice:

"If you don't want to tell me, I'd understand." More silence.

"Hannah calls us sisters, but we're not…full sisters," she began. "We had the same mother, but I don't know who my father is. Hannah's dad wouldn't have anything to do with her afterwards. Mom died after I was born, so I was brought to his estate. Hannah insisted he took me in, which he did, begrudgingly. He sort of treated me like his daughter, I learned early not to ask for favors. When I was four Hannah left for the Interstellar Academy, and while she was gone, I worked hard on his ships. Later he got sick and died, and I had no where to go. So I lived with Hannah in the dormitories, and I worked for my lodging there. Now I try to find small jobs to help with expenses and such." She looked at him and shook her head. "I told you it wasn't an interesting story." Jim shook his head. He reached over to see her bruises, healing but they were still they color of old yellow parchment. It looked sickly against her pale blue skin.

"You know, you don't have to pick a fight with everyone," he sadly smiled. She looked up again and swatted away his hand.

"What does it matter? To the world I'm just the bastard child of a merchant's wife. I'm stuck here for life." Jim couldn't believe what he was hearing. He took he chin in his hands, making her look at him. Her face was still the angry rebel, but her eyes revealed just how sad she was as they fought back the tears.

"Don't say things like that." He ordered softly "Lili, you've got so much potential, you-" He stopped, lost for words. "I know what it feels like to think you're not good enough. It's the worst feeling I've ever had to deal with, and I had to be told by someone else what I had in me. 'You've got the makings of greatness in ya,' he said, and you _do_Lili. So what you didn't know who your father was. That definitely doesn't give someone the right to treat you like that." A tear streamed down her cheek now, and she pulled away to wipe it on her sleeve. He pulled her into a hug, and it took her a minute to hug him back.

"Jim, you're the greatest friend anyone could ask for." She whispered starting to sob again. He just held her as she cried. Soon her sobbing quieted down, and she just stayed still silent. He sat her up.

"You should get some rest," he suggested. She shook her head.

"You'd get awfully lonely up here by yourself," she responded. He shook his head.

"You're hopeless," he joked. Her laugh came clear through the night air.

* * *

Hello! I feel bad about how short this chapter is but the next one is looking VERY LONG, so I figured this would be the best place to stop for now. I realise my updates are rather sporadic, so if you've stuck around for a while I thank you dearly. Even if you just started reading, you have my thanks as well.  
Until next time,  
Mo


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